Store fixture



Feb. 16, 1965 R. J. STEWART 3,169,811

STORE FIXTURE Filed June 28. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 16, 1965 R. J. STEWART STORE FIXTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 28. 1961 INVENTOR. @06F/Q7' d. .ITI/444,97'

BY @www EMM@ Z/z 3,169,811 STRE FUITURE Robert I. Stewart, Sparta, Mich., assigner to The Bulmau Corporation, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of` Michigan Filed June 28, 1961, Ser. No. 120,283 6 Claims. (Cl. S12-140.1)

This invention relates to store counters and particularly to the type thereof which can be readily manufactured and shipped in a knocked-down condition and which can be readily assembled to provide a variety of specific arrangements.

In the designing of counters and cabinets for retail establishments of various types, it has long been recognized that different specific shapes and styles of counters and cabinets are required for different types of stores and/r for different locations and uses in a given store. This presents many problems. First, for a given manufacturer to provide a complete line of counters and cabinets, each adapted for only one use, would be prohibitively costly. Hence, for manufacturing and inventory purposes it is desirable that a single article of manufacture be adaptable to a wide variety of specific uses. Second, since the requirements within a given store will change from time to time, it is equally necessary that a merchant be able to modify a given counter assembly through a wide variety of specific arrangements so that such counter can be used in a variety of locations within his store and for a variety of different uses.

However, it is also desirable that such counter and cabinet assemblies be shipped from the point of manufacture thereof to the point of use in a knocked-down condition and then assembled at the point of use, usually by the purchaser. -Since the purchaser or his employees usually are not experienced in the construction and assembly of counters and cabinets, it is essential that the assembly thereof be very simple and, preferably, be such that it be substantially self-evident with little, if any, need for referring to directions or charts.

A large number of counters and cabinets have previously been offered to the trade in order to meet the above outlinedrequirements and some of them have been well accepted and are in regular commercial use. However, ina continuing effort to improve on the devices provided to meet the needs above outlined, the herein illustrated anddescribed invention has been brought forth.

.Accordingly, the objects of the invention include the following:

l) To provide a store counter construction which can be shipped in knocked-down form and which can be readily assembled by the purchaser at the site of use.

(2) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, which can be readily modified to provide a variety of different arrangements.

(3) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, wherein a variety of modifications in a basicrunit may be made either by the manufacturer prior to shipment or by the purchaser at the site of use and in either case can be made with only a relatively small number of additional parts.

(4) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, which will be of suciently simple construction that it can be manufactured economically and can be assembled easily.

(5) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, in which the assembly thereof can be carried out by relatively unskilled persons and by the use of only simple tools.

(6) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, which will be sutliciently sturdy that it can withstand rigorous use for a long period of time.

Patented Feb. I6, 1965 (7) To provide a store counter construction, as aforesaid, wherein the several parts are readily separable from each other so that in the Vevent of damage to a given part it can be easily and quickly replaced.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons'acquainted with apparatus of this gen'-l eral sort upon reading the following disclosure and in.

specting the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Y

FIGURE l is an obliquey view of the counter made accoi-ding to the invention but with one of the doors in open position.

IGURE 2 is a section taken ontheline II-II of FIGURE l. v

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on Vthe line III-III of FIGURE l.v

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the line IV-IV of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on the line VI-VI of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 7 is a section taken on the line VII-VII of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 8 is a section taken on the line VIII-VIII of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 9 is an oblique view of the forward frame member of the counter.

FIGURE 10 is an oblique view of the rearward frame member of the counter.

FIGURE 11 is a section taken on the same plane as line III-III of FIGURE l and illustrating a modification.

FIGURE l2 is a section taken on theV line XII-XII of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 13 isa section takeny on line XIII-XIII of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 14 is a section taken on line XIV-XIV of FIGURE 1.

. FIGURE l5 is a section taken on the same plane as line III-III of FIGURE 1 and illustrating a further modiiication. Y

FIGURE 16 is a section taken on the line XVI--XVI of FIGURE 5.

With reference now to the drawings, there is shown one speci-lic embodiment of the invention which has been selected for illustrative purposes. However, it will be recognized that this embodiment represents only one assembly of which the parts are capable and the selection of this arrangement for illustrative purposes willbe recogmzed as illustrative only and with no limiting intention.

Turning now to the construction in detail, a lirst side of the counter, which may be for reference purposes here- 'inafter denoted as the forward side is provided with a frame 1 comprised of end members 2 and 3, a top member 4 and a bottom member 6, which members are permanently and rigidly fastened together in any convenient manner, such as by welding. Said frame 1 also includes an inwardly or rearwardly offset member 7 and a downwardly extending member 8 at one end of frame 1 and their counterparts 7n and 8a at the other end of the frame 1, which parts are also permanently and rigidly aflixed to the other frame members inany convenient manner, suchL as by welding. The end members 2 land 3 are preferably made from hollow, rectangular, metal tubing, although other materials and specific shapes are conceivable within the broader scope of the invention. The top member 4 is an inverted U-shaped member and the bottom member 6 is likewise a U-shaped member similar to the member 4 and opening upwardly toward said member 4. The members 4 and 6 may be made as metal or plastic extrusions, if desired, but they are preferably, and in Vthis embodiment, made by rolling. f

` 42a (FGURE 14).

In the particular assembly shown in FIGURE l, where sliding doors are to be used in the frame 1, the upper rail 4 is formed to dene a pair of channels 11 and l2. TheV member or rail 4 excepting thatthe channels 14 and 16 are shallower'than channels of the rail 4 in order to facilitate'installation andA removal of the panels hereinafter mentioned.

ln this embodiment a filler l? is disposed between the webs of the member 6 and guide 13' for spacing nrproses. Said ller may be made of any convenient material', such as wood. The door guide i3 can be made offan'ydesiredl material, such as extruded metal or plastic, but is preferably made of'a self-lubricating extruded plastic, suchasnylom On the opposite nside of the counter, which will hereinafter be denotedl as the rearward side 'ifor convenient reference, there is a further frame member 2 which is made in allY essentials in the same manner and from the same materials as the frame 1, Vexcept that the ottset provided by member 7 in frame l is not provided in frame 21. VThe rearward frame l2l has vertical end members Z2 and 2.3 which are preferably identical, respectively, to the front end members 2 and 3. It also has top and bottom horizontal members 24 and 25 which are identical Vin all respects to the front, top and bottom membersl 4' andf 6V excepting, in 'the specic form shown,

that there is in frame 2l no, doorV guidecorresponding to guide 13.' The iframe Z1 also has downwardl extensions on the 'end members 22 and 23 comprising feet portions 27 and 28 corresponding to the feet'portions 8 ,and 8a of the front frame member 1. All of the feet portions S, 8a, 27 and 2S may, ifV desired, beprovided with glides as shown. at 71 in FGURE '5. The parts of rear frame lmember 21, like those ofv the front frame member 1, are fastened together in any convenient manner, such as Vby welding.

The twoframe members 1- and 2l are associatedwith 32, a top structure Aand'a bottom sheet dieser; Y.

, extending through the inwardlyi turned llanges, as the tlange 3%, on the upper edges ofthe side sheets 3l and VBottom ller sheets, of which the front vand back onesv v tom sheet 34. These are Vpreferably welded in jplace.

The side sheet has its opposite side edges angularly i bent to form vertical anges thereon, of which one is shown lat 36 (FIGURE 6),' said ilanges being .fastened` to the` vertical posts 2 and ,Z2v in any convenient manner,V such as by drive rivets, of which one is indicated at37.V The lower edge of said side sheet 3l is also provided with a-llange 38 (FGURE 8); The upper edge of the side sheet 31- is provided with` a `flange 39 (FIG- URE 3v) upon which may be supported the top structlire 33 as' set forth hereinafter.

Theside sheet 32;l is similar to the side sheet 31 and Y larlyV shaped as shown at 41a (FIGURE -l6). 'IheffrontA andv rear en'd llanges Vare also downwardly extending and reversely bent, as indicated at 42 (FIGURE 5) and at Said bottom sheet 34 is supported on and'by means which are described hereinafter.y l'

'In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the topv strncturel'v comprises a box hereV assumed to be a wooden box having side walls 45 and a bottom'wall 46. Said bottom ,wall rests at its sides upon the upper flange 39 Side liller sheets, of which one Yappears at Si? have kinturned Lona-pcd flanges 51 (FGURE 2) which are received within suitable clips, anchas the clip 52 shown` in connection with the foot tl and weldedVv thereto. The

ybottom iillerY sheet Si) is slid intoY place fromithejtop of the assembly prior to the monnting ofthe end sheets 3,1 and. The fastening Voi' the;- other end of the bottom liller sheet 50 to the foot V27 and the fastening of a corresponding bottom'. ller Vsheet between the feet'a Yand 28v is carried onttin Vthe same manner asV above illustrated with respect to the foot S. f

The front framev is, in the illustrated embodiment, supplied with doors 56 and S7 which are inserted into the respective channels in a known manner, as illusv trated in U.S. PatentxNo. 2,910,740; Thus, the door 56 is disposed in channels l2 and 1d and the door 57 is disposed in the channels l1 and 14, and said doors are sufficiently smaller in vertical dimension than the corresponding distance between the bottoms of said channels that said doorsrmay bereadily slipped into position or removed therefrom.. Y

The rearwardfwall of theV counter assembly may, if desired, be closed by a rearward sheet @l having end flanges, of which one appears at 62 (FGURE 6). The upper and lower edges of said back sheetli are received into VcorrespondingV ones of opposed channels of the back horizontalrails 24 and 26 (FIGURES l2 and 14). The upper and lowerredges of'said back sheet 61 are 'stif-r fened by bendingY over the edges thereof kto provide flanges similar to the end flanges, said ilanges here being' of tions, how the parts go together that the assembly procedure itself proceeds with only simple tools required.

VMany variations in the counter assembly are readily possible. For examplethe doors 56 and 5"/ may be either opaque as indicated in the drawings wherein they are shownl as being formed of sheet meahor they may be made ofwood if desiredrfor any reason, such as appearance, or they may. be of 'glassfif it is desired to expose'the contents ofthe counter to view. Such doors are provided in this embodiment on the front of the counter, and such doors could be added in the rear if desired by Vlifting out theback panel d1 and inserting a'double U-shaped track inthe bottom channel like that in the front lower channel.

Conversely, the vfront of the cabinet may be closed by removing the double U-track 3 and inserting a panel similar'to panel 61, which may be of'any desired ma- I terial. Shelfsupports 66 and 67 of anyy conventional type may be provided` in the end panels 3:1 and 32 and conventional shelving, not shown,V utilized in connection therewith. *i v `'libe box' 33 'shown` in the drawings may, it desired, be replaced by single planar top'm'embers, as shown at @tand 65 inFMlGURES l5 and l1, respectively, Such 'idp panelsmay be made of any convenient material, sach as'wood or a suitable plastic composition or metal.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above inV detail for illustrative purposes, it .will beV recognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within. lh? SCOIN? O f the appended claims, are fully contemplated;

What is claimed ist 1. In a knock-down type, store counter construction,

the combination comprising:

an integral, rigid, forward frame having top, bottom, and end members, the end members of said forward frame each having an integral extension extending rearwardly from the lower end thereof, said extensions each having an integral depending, vertical leg thereon at the end thereof for supporting said forward frame;

a rearward frame similar to said forward frame, the end members of said rearward frame each having an integral, collinear leg depending therefrom for supporting said rearward frame;

a pair of similar side sheets releasably attached to and extending between corresponding end members of said frames whereby to provide a rigid and self-supporting counter structure; and

top means at least partially supported on said frames.

2. The construction deiined in claim 1, including a bottom sheet filling the area between the bottom members of said frames;

a pair of filler sheets each having a horizontal, inturned flange secured, respectively, to said forward set of legs and to said rearward set of legs, said filler sheets illing the space below said frames and said inturned iianges supporting said bottom sheet.

3. In a knock-down type, store counter construction,

the combination comprising:

an integral, rigid, forward frame comprising top, bottom and end members, the end members of said forward frame each having an integral extension extending rearwardly from the lower end thereof, said extensions each having an integral depending vertical leg thereon at the end thereof for supporting said forward frame;

an integral, rigid, rearward frame comprising top, bottom and end members, the end members of said rearward frame each having an integral, collinear leg depending therefrom for supporting said rearward frame, said frames defining rectangular openings of identical size;

means defining a pair of downwardly opening channels secured to the top member of each of said frames, said channels being substantially identical; and

means defining an upwardly opening channel on the bottom member of each of said frames, said upwardly opening channels being substantially identical and being each substantially equal in width tothe combined width of the downwardly opening channels ou one of said top members;

and means connecting said front and rear frames to each other.

4. A construction according to claim 3, including a d door guide removably received within one of said upwardly opening channels, the open upper side of said one of said channels being of suiiicient width to allow insertion of said door guide therewithin, said door guide having three substantially parallel, upright ilanges, the outer two,

ianges slidably engaging the legs of said upwardly opening channel.

5. A construction according to claim 1 including:

a front filler sheet extending between said front legs and having a horizontal ilange at its upper end;

a rear filler sheet extending between said rear legs and having a horizontal ange at its upper end;

a bottom sheet extending between said front and rear filler sheets and resting on said horizontal anges, said bottom sheet having front and rear anges for engaging the opposing surfaces of said bottom members of said forward and rearward frames;

end ller sheets extending between the legs at the respective ends of said frames, said end filler sheets each having a horizontal ange at the upper end thereof and a vertical ange at the inner end of said horizontal flange, said side sheets each having a ange along its lower edge resting on said horizontal ange of one of said end iiller sheets, said bottom sheet having vertical flanges at the ends thereof engaging the vertical flanges on said end filler sheets.

6. The construction according to claim 1 in which the forward and rearward frames each has an inverted L- shaped bottom filler sheet located between the legs thereof, each of said filler sheets having its upper flange form ing the L, each extending toward the other frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,508,259 Stafford Sept. 9, 1924 1,573,254 Lachaine Feb. 16, 1926 2,122,098 Janssen June `28, 1938 2,393,879 Barnsteiner Jan. 29, 1946 2,475,079 Clouse July 5, 1949 2,527,740 Kurtzon Oct. 31, 1950 2,602,501 Roas July 8, 1952 2,661,994 Knuth Dec. 8, 1953 2,667,401 Knuth Jan. 26, 1954 2,727,800 Snider Dec. 20, 1955 2,762,672 Motter Sept. 11, 1956 2,778,703 McBride Jan. 22, 1957 2,877,511 Viola Mar. 17, 1959 2,908,539 White Oct. 13, 1959 2,968,519 Weber Jan. 17, 1961 3,040,848 Powell June 26, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 581,170 Italy Aug. 21, 1958 614,013 Great Britain Dec. 8, 1948 

1. IN A KNOCK-DOWN TYPE, STORE COUNTER CONSTRUCTION, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: AN INTEGRAL, RIGID, FORWARD FRAME HAVING TOP BOTTOM, AND END MEMBERS, THE END MEMBERS OF SAID FORWARD FRAME EACH HAVING AN INTEGRAL EXTENSION EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM THE LOWER END THEREOF, SAID EXTENSIONS EACH HAVING AN INTEGRAL DEPENDING, VERTICAL LEG THEREON AT THE END THEREOF FOR SUPPORTING SAID FORWARD FRAME; A REARWARD FRAME SIMILAR TO SAID FORWARD FRAME, THE END MEMBERS OF SAID REARWARD FRAME EACH HAVING AN INTEGRAL, COLLINEAR LEG DEPENDING THEREFROM FOR SUPPORTING SAID REARWARD FRAME; A PAIR OF SIMILAR SIDE SHEETS RELEASABLY ATTACHED TO AND EXTENDING BETWEEN CORRESPONDING END MEMBERS OF SAID FRAMES WHEREBY TO PROVIDE A RIGID AND SELF-SUPPORTING COUNTER STRUCTURE; AND TOP MEANS AT LEAST PARTIALLY SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAMES. 